It was the second day since leaving the small village. From Kota’s estimations, he had traveled about halfway to Arabol, a large city that was well defended against demons. There was supposed to be another small village on the way there, but Kota had discovered only their ruins last night. Luckily, there still had been several buildings standing where he could camp out for the night.

Of course, where Kota went, Aona followed.

“You tired?” Kota asked, glancing down at Aona.

Aona tilted her head up at him and gave him a fanged smile. The little wolf demon definitely didn’t understand the words he was saying, but she at least recognized when he was speaking to her. Kota wondered if he would one day be able to train her to speak.

What am I thinking, one day? Kota chided himself. She’s a wild demon. I’m lucky that she hasn’t butchered me in my sleep.

But truth be told, Kota had already realized that Aona was a little different from other demons the moment she had attacked the bear demon to protect the humans. Whether she was underdeveloped for a demon or simply did not have the hunger, Kota did not know, but for the time being, he was happy to have a little company on his journey.

Aona meowed at Kota. The meows were a new sound that Aona had started making the past couple of days. Kota had heard her growl and hiss, but the meow was the first unaggressive sound that Kota had heard her make. Kota understood it as some kind of comment or question.

“Where are we going?” said Kota. “We’re going to the Field of Fallen Stars.”

“Meow.”

“Why?” said Kota. “I’m having a little trouble writing the story I want to write. I’ve heard the Field of Fallen Stars is the most beautiful sight known to mankind – if I see it, I bet I could get inspiration to finish.”

Aona stared up at Kota, yellow eyes wide with wonder.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Kota asked, pausing in the middle of the path.

Aona hissed and leaped upwards, swiping at a butterfly fluttering over Kota’s head. Kota sighed and stared plodding down the path again, shaking his head and smiling.

The smile slipped off of Kota’s face as a small group of people came into view in the distance. Kota reached down and pulled Aona’s rice hat off her back and onto her head. She scowled at him and swiped half-heartedly at his arm. Over the past couple of days, Kota had gotten it into her head that if she wanted to travel with him, there were times were she simply needed to wear a hat. Her tail was now safely covered by the brown peasant’s dress hanging to her ankles. Aona had left more than a few scratches on Kota and the village tailor when they had dressed her.

Kota scanned the group of people as they came into a view. There were five of them in total – four men and one woman. Each one of them was dressed in light armor and each wielded a weapon. However, none of them carried themselves like a member of the Wandering.

Beside him, Aona hissed quietly at the sight. Kota vaguely remembered Aona’s reaction when he had wielded the stick – these people carrying swords, spears, and shields probably appeared much more frightening. Kota reached down and took her hand – a gesture that seemed to calm her.

“Good day, stranger!” said the man walking at the head of the group. He was young, probably younger than twenty. He had curly brown hair hanging to his shoulders, dark blue eyes, and a haughty smile on his face. He was dressed in a suit of golden armor and had a sword as long as he was tall strapped to his back. The hilt of the sword was infused with gems of all color, making it look more like treasure than a weapon.

Kota dipped his head in greeting, casting a glance at the rest of the party as he passed. The other three men and the woman were dressed and armed nowhere near as fancily as their leader. They wore leather armor and the weapons they carried were dirty and dull.

Seems like a noble and his guards, thought Kota. Nothing to see here.

The low growls from Aona stopped him. Her right hand had tightened around his left, squeezing intensely. Her yellow eyes were fixed on the party of five.

It’s none of my business! Kota ignored Aona and tugged on her hand. Aona glared up at him and hissed loudly.

“What was that sound?” asked one of the men, pausing. “Sounded like a demon.”

Kota turned to Aona and pressed a finger against his lips. Fortunately, she understood this gesture and quieted her growls to a low grumble.

“Did you hear that too?” said Kota. It’ll be trouble if these five attack me.

“We must be getting close!” said the noble, eyes glinting.

Seeing the look in the man’s eyes, Kota couldn’t help but speak. “Close to what?”

“Demons!” said the young nobleman, eyes wide with excitement. Behind him, his guards gave each other quick glances.

“There indeed are demons everywhere around here,” said Kota. “The next village up the road has already been decimated. I’d suggest you hurry if you want to make it civilization before dark.”

“Why would we do that?” asked the nobleman, brow furrowed. “We’re hunting demons.”

“Sir,” said one of the guards. “Let’s go.”

Humans hunting demons? Kota made sure to keep a tight grip on Aona’s hand. He watched as the noble and his guards turned and started making their way down the path once more. No one in the right mind would go after demons.

“You said you knew where the demons’ lair was, right?” the nobleman asked one of his guards, voice faint in the distance but still loud enough to be heard.

Kota didn’t hear the response, but he had heard enough. First, with only five fighters with poor equipment, a single demon could destroy their whole party. But that wasn’t what Kota was concerned about. He was more concerned about the fact that the only people who had ever made it close enough to a so-called demon lair without dying were the Wandering.

Aona strained against Kota’s hand, pulling him towards the receding backs of the party.

“Seems like something about those people is really bothering you,” said Kota.

Aona hissed and glared at him.

Kota sighed and glanced up at the sky. They were probably half an hour to an hour out from Arabol and there was plenty of day to work with. “I guess it can’t hurt to see what they’re up to.”

Acquiescing to Aona’s demands, Kota let her pull him after the party.

-

The two of them tailed the party for the better part of twenty minutes. Kota had pulled Aona off the main path and into the tall weeds lining the sides of the path, disguising their behavior from the target. Unfortunately, Aona seemed to hate the weeds more than she hated humans. Every few moments, she would whirl around and gnash at the weeds tickling her tail, almost mauling Kota in the process and disturbing everything within a close radius. Kota had almost decided to call it quits and head back in the direction of Arabol when the party came to an abrupt stop in the middle of nowhere.

Because Aona was so loud, they were too far away to hear what the people were saying. In the distance, the three men and one woman dressed in ordinary armor surrounded the nobleman, drawing their weapons and facing him. The nobleman, looked around, face a sickly shade of pallid white.

Serves him right for wearing such flamboyant armor, thought Kota, checking to make sure that Aona was behaving.

She was gone.

Kota cursed under his breath and glanced around. A distance away, there was a whoosh of gray cutting through the tall weeds. The next moment, Aona burst out of the weeds and onto the path, barreling into the back of one of the men.

“Curse the stars!” Kota roared, charging through the weeds.

“A demon!” screamed the nobleman.

Ignoring his cry, the woman lunged forward with her sword, aiming not at Aona but for the nobleman. In the midst of the woman’s attack, Aona sprang through the air, surrounded by a faint blue aura. Even with an aura as weak as her own, Aona moved like a bullet. She rammed into the woman’s abdomen, sending the woman tumbling off the path and into the weeds.

“Kill it!” shouted the nobleman, cowering on the ground and covering his head with his hands. “I’ll give you anything you want if you save me!”

Kota finally burst out of the tall weeds, sweating and panting from wading through the thick vegetation. Before he had time to catch his breath, one of the remaining three men leaped at him, swinging a sword straight down at Kota’s head.

Maybe it was the pain of having countless small cuts on his legs from baring through the weeds. Maybe it was the frustration of losing the fight to Francis. Whatever it was, rage surged through Kota, igniting an emotion in him that he had not felt since his days as one of the Wandering.

Bloodlust.

Kota took a single step to the side. The man’s blade sunk into the ground an inch to the side of Kota’s body. Not giving the man time to draw his blade, Kota drew his fist back and released all of his rage in a single blow. His fist smashed into the man’s face. Kota felt bones and cartilage crunching beneath his knuckles. With a roar, Kota angled the trajectory of his blow to the ground, smashing the man’s head against the dirt path. There was a dull thud and the man no longer moved.

Shoulders heaving, Kota looked up. Several feet away from him, Aona darted in between the cowering nobleman and the two men attacking her. Aona snarled and batted away a blow aimed at her. Immediately pouncing to the left, she lashed out with a leg and kicked the other man away, who had tried to grab the noble behind her. Kota’s eyes widened as we realized what was happening.

She’s protecting him.

A small smile crossed Kota’s lips and he sprang into action. Like the defeated man and woman, these last two men did not put up much of a fight. When it was all said and done, the men had fled, carrying their injured companions off into the distance. The nobleman remained where he was, curled up in a ball and whimpering.

“Let’s go,” Kota to Aona, who was licking at a scrape on her arm. She glanced up at him and bared her fangs in a smile. Kota slung his pack back over his shoulder and started heading back down the path where they had come from, Aona on his heels.

“Wait!” a voice called from behind them.

The nobleman had crawled to his feet, legs trembling as he stood. He slowly raised his head, blue eyes determined despite the fear that quavered through his body.

“I need your help.”